In the recent years, we have seen some solid software applications from the open source world. Linux, Apache and PHP are prime examples of this. Another one of such solid applications is MySQL (http://www.mysql.com/). MySQL is a product of MySQL AB, a company which aims to create high quality data storage and management solutions for all in an easy and affordable manner. MySQL is a full fledged Relational Database Management System like Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. MySQL supports almost all of the ANSI SQL 99 Standard along with its own added functionalities. Many of the world's largest organizations, including Yahoo!, Google, Cisco, Lufthansa, Dunn & Bradstreet, Hyperion, Sabre Holdings, Cox Communications, The Associated Press and NASA are realizing significant cost savings by using MySQL to power Web sites, business-critical enterprise applications and packaged software. According to the MySQL website, there are currently 4 million active installations of MySQL Database Server in the world and 35,000 downloads per day!

RDBMS are a commonplace in today's large scale corporations. Most companies rely on commercial RDBMS like Oracle. But the days are over when having a strong, secure, fast and stable RDBMS was only in the hands of huge companies. Since MySQL is an open source software application, its use within the terms of GPL is free. A moderate license fee of $495 is there for using MySQL on commercial systems outside the scope of GPL license terms and conditions. However, paying such a low fee for a fully mature database management system can be counted as a gesture of goodwill on your behalf. Other commercial solutions costs in thousands of dollars as compared to MySQL.

You can connect to MySQL database using almost any of the programming languages with its standard threadsafe client library and custom drivers. Commonly used Application Programming Interfaces for MySQL include APIs for C, Perl, Python, PHP, Java and many other popular programming languages. The MySQL database is widely supported on multiple platforms including Linux, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, Sun Solaris, IBM's AIX, Mac OS X, HP-UX, AIX, QNX, Novell NetWare, SCO OpenUnix, SGI Irix, and Dec OSF. MySQL enables you to achieve quality administration with its powerful and secure architecture. It also suppots SSL transport-layer encryption which enables even greater security and safe transactions. On its website, MySQL claims to be the world's most popular RDBMS and provides comparison tests on its website. Many different major organizations are migrating towards MySQL and having their costs cut down to only a minor portion of what they used to spend previously on commercial solutions. And of course, its open source tag certifies you to change the source code and implement new customized features to meet your companies requirements. Like any other major database, MySQL also has full-text indexing and searching capabilities including very useful manipulation functions. Another great element in MySQL is the Embedded database library which allows you to implement the entire database server under any application or electronic device. This is like having our own database server in the background working.

MySQL enjoys a great place among the web development community and is the first choice for many PHP Programmers. The popular solution LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) is already a buzzword in the web industry.

MySQL has a truly great online community which is helping millions of MySQL users around the world and sharing valuable knowledge with each other. Commercial Support is also a great option for corporations that require a much superior support system. MySQL team's dedication and hard work has earned them partnerships with major technology firms worldwide including Intel, SAP AG, Silicon Graphics, Novell and VERITAS Software. MySQL is a great choice for businesses of all sizes who want a top quality RDBMS at no cost or at virtually no cost. MySQL's popularity has grown too much today that many tech conferences are taking place for MySQL around the world regularly and leading news journals are already showing praise for MySQL